Undoubtedly, the most wonderful function in the life of the couple is their ‘Wedding’. As you know, it puts them into a new phase of life. They tie the knot of love and affection and lead a happy and a life of mutual understanding and cooperation and that is ‘wedding’. The wedding function is equally an important function for the parents of the bride and the groom. The mother of the bride is an elated person because her loving daughter is getting married. Equally the groom’s mother is elated because her family will receive a new entrant; the ‘daughter in law’. Obviously, such a great occasion requires meticulous planning.

Take for example an American wedding function. Once the couple decides to tie the knot, normally the parents of both bride and groom would discuss about the arrangements for the marriage. In the normal course, the bride’s parents will make all the arrangements for the wedding. Of course, wherever necessary they will seek the advice from the groom’s party also. Perhaps, list of things to take care in American wedding can be classified into the following groups:

Start with an open mind: This is very crucial in any function; do not have any kind of inhibition or too much of expectations. Many times you may not be able to make it exactly the way you want it to be. This is true of wedding functions also. For example, you may have the desire to hold the wedding on a beach. But, for various reasons you may find it impossible to do so. Therefore, you must start with a theory of compromising, in short start with an open mind and have a broad mind to accept the realities.

Decide on the date:
This is very crucial because the date you decide should be convenient to both the bride and the groom and their parents. For example, do not fix the date during examination time because most of the children of the close relatives and guests would be busy with their examination and they may not be able to attend the wedding. Similarly, it is advisable that do not fix the wedding date during extreme cold season. It is needless to mention it may dampen the enthusiasm of the guests.

Make a list of arrangements to be made:
With so many things to do for the wedding, you may forget to make some important arrangements that are directly related to the wedding function. Therefore, start making a list of arrangements for the wedding. For example, issues like fixing the venue for the wedding religious ceremony or fixing the menu, arrangements with the photographer, cake, flowers and so on; make a list of such related works. Fix the timeline for each work and that would dramatically reduce your tensed moments.

Budget:
This is a very important aspect in the wedding. It is said that average American wedding expenses is about $20,000; excluding expenses on honeymoon of the couple. Pool up all your resources and prune whatever you feel unnecessary expenditure. Make sure you also keep some amount for unforeseen expenditure. You may have to set apart considerable portion of the money for dress and jewelry of the bride, as also expenses on the wedding ceremony and that of the wedding party. In fact, considerable portion of the money will be spent on these three aspects. Wherever necessary, you may have to scale down the number of invitees. Therefore, plan meticulously and try to work within the wedding budget.

Prepare the guest list:
This is very important because you must ensure that you do not miss any important person. Group the invitees as relatives, friends and colleagues. Start making the list at least few weeks in advance. Always, keep a small diary and pen and start noting as and when you recollect the name. Enter the name everyday as soon as you reach home. You may put it on to your laptop in excel sheet and arrange it in alphabetical order.

Pre-wedding counseling:
As you know, some churches expect the marrying couple to attend pre-wedding counseling in the church. Fix the date for such counseling at least few weeks prior to the wedding. That would give you enough time to complete the other arrangements required for the wedding.

Choose the bridesmaid:
This is very important because that gives you enough time to buy the dress for her. It is advisable that you buy the dress for the bridesmaid, flower girls and also mother of the bride’s dress along with the bride’s gown. Spend some time with them and decide about the type of dress that you propose to buy for them.

Groom’s dress:
In many cases, the bride’s parents present a unique dress for the groom and his parents. If that is so, choose a suitable for them along with the bride’s dress.

Wedding cards:
Get the wedding card printed at least one month before the wedding and start distributing the card. Now, many people post or courier the wedding cards and call up the guests over phone and invite them for the wedding. That would save considerable amount of time and money. That would be a wonderful arrangement; but start the process of inviting the guests at least few weeks in advance.

Marriage license:
Of course, this is a very important aspect and therefore you must ascertain the procedure required to be followed in order to get the marriage license. Keep all the documents ready for applying for the license.

Fix the beautician:
You can call a beautician to the wedding hall for attending to the bride, bridesmaid and other persons. Alternatively, you can send them to the nearest beautician’s saloon. In any case, book the appointment with them sufficiently in advance.

Wedding day: There will be few things that need to be done on the wedding day. For example, you may have to identify a person to oversee the arrangement of the chairs or for welcoming the guests and so on. Entrust such jobs to some of your relatives and friends. You should make a list of such job that needs to be attended to on the wedding day.
Distribute the work to various groups:
It is needless to say that proper planning plays a key role in the success of any functions and it is true even in the case of wedding function. At the same time, you may also be aware that one individual cannot make all these arrangements. Therefore, choose a group of people among your relatives and friends and distribute the work among them. You may coordinate with them so as to ensure that all arrangements are properly made.

Event managers:
As you know, several event management agencies are also taking up the work of making arrangements for the wedding function. That would be a wonderful idea because event managers are specially trained and experienced in making such arrangements and they ensure that every arrangement is made for the wedding. They ensure that every item required for the wedding is kept ready at the right time and place. However, before you entrust the job to event manager, you must carefully go through the reviews of the agency. You must also personally talk to some of their clients and ascertain about the quality of their service. You should also personally discuss with the agency about the type of arrangements they are making, their past experience and such other issues. You should appraise them about your budget, the type of arrangements you are planning to make and so on. You should ensure that the agency has secured the necessary license from the appropriate agency. Only after satisfying yourself on all these aspects, you may consider to entrust the job to the agency.